Starbucks is releasing a coffee that tastes like a stout beer. Do you think this is a concept that will last as long as the pumpkin spice latte?

Click through the slideshow to see other drive-thru concepts and when they came into existence. less

Starbucks is releasing a coffee that tastes like a stout beer. Do you think this is a concept that will last as long as the pumpkin spice latte?

Click through the slideshow to see other drive-thru concepts and ... more

Photo: James Nielsen

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2003: Pumpkin spice latte

Starbucks introduced its now very popular pumpkin spice latte in 2003. (jeffwilcox, Flickr).

2003: Pumpkin spice latte

Starbucks introduced its now very popular pumpkin spice latte in 2003. (jeffwilcox, Flickr).

Image 3 of 18

1995: Frappuccino

Just as people use the pumpkin spice latte to know when fall has arrived, Starbucks' Frappuccinos have helped many people figure out when summer begins. The icy drinks were introduced in 1995. ( Basheer Tome, Flickr).

Maybe it's unfair to pick on Starbucks. In 1980, McDonald's introduced its ''Shamrock Shake,'' which helped kids know that St. Patrick's Day was around the corner. It looks like this now; but in the '80s, it featured ''Uncle O'Grimacey.''
(Photo: Dan Century, Flickr).

McDonald's triple-decker Big Mac was created in 1967 in a McDonald's near Pittsburgh. Long before the jingle, ''I'm lovin' it,'' there was this Big Mac song: ''Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun.''

Dairy Queen's ''Blizzard'' came out in 1985, when the soft-serve company launched its new invention to blend candies, cookies, fruit and nuts in ice cream. According to the company in 2010, the ''Blizzard is the Dairy Queen system’s single greatest dessert innovation in 23 years.''
(Dusty J, Flickr).

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is testing a latte that it says has the "savory toasty malt" flavor of a foamy mug of stout.

The "Dark Barrel Latte" is being tested in a handful of stores in Ohio and Florida, said Linda Mills, a Starbucks spokeswoman. She said the drink is topped with whipped cream, dark caramel drizzle and incorporates a "chocolatey stout flavored sauce."

Despite the stout flavor, the latte does not contain alcohol.

She declined to provide further details, noting Starbucks regularly tests new drinks.

Starbucks Corp., based in Seattle, has enjoyed strong sales growth in part by continually introducing new food and drinks.